501 Places

In my first post last week I described a fictional journey from London up to the beautiful north west tip of Scotland. It was great to receive many suggestions of places I had missed, and also much doubt as to whether this intense itinerary would be possible to complete in one week. I have to agree it would be an insane rush and would be much better if you took your time and visited these places in two weeks. From the outset I will apply the same caveat to week 2. I am deliberately squeezing in as much as possible, but accept that it’s better taken at a more leisurely pace.

Day 8  You can take a trip to nearby Cape Wrath, but a better experience is to visit Handa Island, just off the west coast from the little hamlet of Tarbet. The island is a lively bird sanctuary and a great place to spot puffins. There are some huge birds here, none more unsettling than the great skua, a creature not averse to attacking human intruders if it feels they are posing a threat to its young. To get off the island you need to wave a flag from the beach to attract the attention of the ferryman on the mainland who will come and collect you. There is an excellent seafood restaurant by the harbour in Tarbet, and you should be in time for a welcome lunch. After lunch take a very long journey south to arrive in time to catch the sunset on the west coast at Arisaig. This stunning coastline was featured extensively in the cult 80’s movie Local Hero, and your long way on the road will be rewarded with views of the Isles of Skye and Eigg to the west.

Day 9 There’s so much stunning scenery to enjoy here, and I am loathed to leave it behind as this area is worth a week alone. But time is short, so today involves a long drive southwards all the way into England. A detour can take you onto the Ardnamurchan peninsula and a visit to the haunting Castle Tioram before crossing on the Corran Ferry and joining the A82 for the scenic drive through the Highlands and along the shores of Loch Lomond. There are many good places for lunch where you can enjoy views of the loch, and soon you will be circling Glasgow (well worth a visit and a shame to miss I know) and heading down the first motorway you will have seen for a few days. By the evening you can enjoy the beauty of the English Lake District, and a stop around Grasmere will leave you in a great location to explore the area in the morning.

Day 10 You have the choice of many walks to experience at least a little of the Lake District. The most convenient from here is the hike up to and around Easedale Tarn. It is a well trodden path but if you start early you’ll have the path pretty much to yourself, and the scenery when you reach the tarn is well worth the walk. From the water’s edge there are many wonderful extensions to the walk, and when you eventually take the path back to the village you will be ready for a hearty meal and a cream tea, before heading off southwards to Liverpool. The first city stop for almost a week, take the chance to wander around the Albert Docks where you have a wide choice of places to eat, as well as absorbing some of Beatles nostalgia that is inescapable in this part of the city.

Harlech Castle

Day 11 Set off in the morning into Wales and a mid-morning stop at Conwy, home to one of the finest castles in North Wales. Explore the castle and the old town walls before driving further west to Harlech, and perhaps the most stunning setting of all the castles in this area. It is well worth a wander along the ramparts and a climb up the steep narrow towers for a view out to the sea. From here drive back to Chester for an overnight stay in this historic Roman city.

Day 12  Today we head south again, down to Telford and a visit to the picturesque gorge at Ironbridge. The bridge itself is the world’s oldest iron bridge, and if you walk a little beyond the usual tourist shops that are on offer it is actually a very pretty spot to wander and choose the best place for a great photo. Head on past Gloucester and back into Wales to visit Tintern Abbey. This lovely ruin is found on a bend on the river Wye, and although the abbey itself is in Wales the best views of it are to be found across on the English side of the river at Devil’s Pulpit. Visit the lively city of Bristol for the evening and another great selection of places to eat. You will hear yet another distinct regional accent as you speak to Bristolians, and by now you will have heard most British accents being spoken!

Day 13  Today we head into Dorset, and a visit to Shaftesbury, with perhaps the most quaint street in the whole of Britain. Made famous to all Brits by the Hovis TV advert this steep cobbled street winds up to what I remember to be a good tea room at the top where you can admire the views of the Dorset countryside. From here the road south and east takes you down into the New Forest, the only National Park in this corner of England. Take time for a walk in the forest where you can stumble across the New Forest ponies. For your final evening stay in one of the many traditional pubs in the forest.

Day 14 It is the last day of a hectic fortnight, and the road leads back to London. A good final stop on the way is the historic city of Winchester. The cathedral dominates the city, but it is well worth wandering through the narrow lanes and finding many small shops (including of course some excellent bakeries). After a stop here, it’s time for the drive back up to London and a flight home, tired but with many memories to keep you satisfied for a long time to come.

The UK has so much to offer beyond its most famous attractions, and the aim of these posts is to highlight just a few of my favourite spots. Of course there are many that I’ve missed, but the message to visitors is this: give time in your itinerary to explore the length and breadth of Britain. There are surprises and delights in every corner of the country, and by heading off the beaten track you will discover your own highlights of this wonderful country.

We have been hosting our good friends from California this week. They were with us for three full days, and asked if we could show them Scotland and Wales. “No problem” I said. And then I thought about it, and wondered how the hell it would be possible! Having safely dropped our friends at the airport this morning after our marathon journey, I can say that it CAN be done. It’s a rush, every experience is little more than a taster, but it is possible to show some of the highlights of our beautiful country and let visitors know that there is so much to see and experience here that a longer visit should be planned. Here’s how we did it.

Day 1

We set off from home in St Albans at 7am. Travelling on the dull journey along the M1 and M6 I encouraged my passengers to catch some valuable sleep for the day ahead. First stop was Llangollen, just over the border into Wales and our token Welsh stop. It’s a pretty little town, set in a lush green valley and with a pretty riverside to enjoy, as well as numerous shops selling tacky trickets. We even managed a stroll along the famous canal, and a visit to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, recently awarded World Heritage Status and a very impressive sight.

Lunch was taken rather hurriedly in Chester, with a moment to wander along the city walls and the high street, a chance to admire a few of the great buildings Chester has to offer, and a sample of a great local delicacy – the deep fried Mars Bar! (received the thumbs up all round)

Then on to Liverpool, and after a quick glance around the Albert Docks we jumped on the Magical Mystery Tour bus for a 2 hour tour around the sites associated with the Beatles. It was a lot of fun, even for us having lived close to Liverpool for many years and never having taken the tour.

A short walk through the city, and then back in the car for a drive north to the Lake District, and our first night’s rest at the Old Dungeon Ghyll, high up at the foot of the Langdale Pikes. It’s a spectacular setting, and well worth the extra miles even for the weary driver. A beer and a steak and ale pie soon soothed the aches and pains from the day in the driver’s seat.

Day 2

An early start for an hour’s hike before breakfast and a prompt departure back to the main roads in Ambleside. Our path took us north along the shores of Ullswater, and with a stop in Gretna Green to refresh and learn the history of this infamous border town, we motored on to lunch in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh of course deserves a longer visit, but with our tight itinerary we were able to admire the churches and historic buildings of the Royal Mile briefly before heading for the castle and spending a little over an hour looking around the main buildings in this lofty old fortress/palace.

Then it was onwards again, just ahead of the rush hour and out to Falkirk to see the new attraction in Scotland, the Falkirk Wheel. This mechanical marvel carries canal boats between two canals seperated vertically by around 40 metres. We saw two rotations of the wheel, and our friends were quite taken by this clever solution to an old problem.

From Falkirk it was a short and pleasant drive into the Campsie Fells for a stay in Culcreuch Castle; a remote and romantic setting, popular with couples from all over the world looking for that Scottish Castle wedding.

Day 3

This was both a punishing and rewarding day. After a full Scottish breakfast, it was 4 hours of almost constant driving, through the Highlands and along Loch Ness to Inverness. The stunning scenery kept everyone awake and with photo stops we took in much of the spectacular sights that Scotland is so famous for.

A short lunch in Inverness and a stroll along the river, and then the hire car was dropped at the airport, we hopped onto the Easyjet flight back to Luton and we were home before 6pm.

Reflections

It is a tough tour (for the driver yes, but for the passengers too). There was no time to kick off your shoes and relax. However, I never thought I would be able to show so much of our country to visitors, and the level of appreciation and the sense of wonder at the riches of the UK made it all worthwhile. Our friends were amazed that there was so much to Britain. Visit Britain take note; even travel hardened Americans who have been to the UK before didn’t expect that there was much to see north of London.

I don’t necessarily subscribe to breakneck visits at this pace, but this week has challenged my assumptions. If such a trip can show visitors just how diverse, how beautiful, how friendly and how quirky the UK really is, then taster tours like this can be a great way to sell Britain.

And for us there was a lesson that I will consider in our future travels. Finding good food, the off-beat sight or attraction, and the unusual places to stay is like finding a needle in a haystack without a local native to show you around. Our friends left with the myth of awful British food destroyed, thanks to the many places we showed them; places that we had already found at least once before and could recommend. A little local knowledge can go a very long way in making a trip memorable.